Livestock feeders are intended for feeding livestock such as cattle, sheep, swine and horses in an agricultural setting. These types of feeders assist in dispensing large quantities of feed, for example, hay and grains, to livestock several times a day. On average, cattle are fed twice to five times a day and may consume as much as 25-30 pounds of feed per day. The task of feeding livestock is a laborious and time-consuming chore for many livestock owners.
Many livestock feeders provide high capacity storage tanks which can receive and store large amounts of feed prior to feeding. A storage tank may connect to a single trough so that the stored feed therein may dispense into the trough for animal consumption. However, the amount of feed delivered to the trough at a given feeding is generally not monitored. Moreover, when multiple cattle feed from the same trough, there may be unequal consumption between cattle, especially when stronger cattle push weaker cattle away from the feeder or exhibit “bulling” behavior.
For certain livestock breeding or livestock shows, the amount fed to the cattle must be strictly monitored. As such, there is a need for measured food delivery to each head of cattle in a manner which allows the livestock owner to monitor the amount of feed fed to each cattle and prevents “bulling” behavior during feedings.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a livestock feeder providing pre-measured feeding of livestock so that the amount of feed fed to each cattle may be monitored.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a livestock feeder that provides equal consumption between cattle by separating the feeding of cattle into stalls.
It is still further an object and feature of the present invention to provide a livestock feeder that attract the animal to the feeder and prevents the animal from being distracted by other animals during feeding.
In accordance with the present invention, a livestock feeder having a hopper defining a chamber for receiving livestock feed therein and a feed discharge assembly operatively connected to the hopper is provided. The feed discharge assembly includes a top plate providing a plurality of first openings communicating with the hopper for receiving the livestock feed therein, a bottom plate providing a plurality of second openings misaligned from the first openings, and a center plate positioned between the top plate and the bottom plate and including a plurality of receptacles, the center plate moveable between a first position wherein each receptacle is configured for receiving feed through the first openings and a second position where each receptacle is configured to discharge the feed received therein to corresponding second openings. The livestock feeder further includes a trough in communication with the second openings in the bottom plate of the feed discharge assembly, the trough adapted to receive feed discharged from the second openings.
The trough may include dividers for sectioning the trough into individual stalls, each stall aligned with and communicating with a corresponding one of the second openings in the bottom plate of the feed discharge assembly. Each stall is defined by a rear wall in communication with a corresponding one of the second openings in the bottom plate of the feed discharge assembly and a pair of spaced dividers extending therefrom, the dividers configured to block peripheral vision of an animal when the animal is feeding from the trough. An indicator light may be installed within each stall, each indicator light selectively emitting a light for attracting the livestock to the feeder. The light emitted by the indicator is one of a blue and a yellow light. A calf guard may be removeably attached to the livestock feeder and limiting physical access to the trough by an animal. The feeder may include a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader. The RFID reader is configured to read a corresponding RFID identifier implanted in an animal when an animal is feeding from a stall of the trough.
The hopper may be cylindrical and the top plate, bottom plate and middle plates may be rings. Alternatively, the hopper may be rectangular and the top plate, bottom plate and middle plates may be rectangular. The hopper may also include a generally conical floor. The floor of the hopper directs the livestock feed towards the first openings in the top plate. A drive mechanism may be operatively connected to the center plate of the feed discharge assembly. The drive mechanism selectively moves the center plate between the first and second positions.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method of feeding livestock is provided. The method includes the steps of filling a hopper with livestock feed and directing the feed towards a feed discharge assembly. The feed discharge assembly is moveable between a first position for receiving a quantity of feed from the hopper and a second position wherein the quantity of feed is discharged into a trough. The feed discharge assembly may be selectively moved between the first position to the second position.
The method may further include dividing the trough into a plurality of stalls. Each stall receives a portion of the quantity of feed with the feed discharge assembly in the second position. One of a blue light and yellow light may be emitted from at least one of the plurality of stalls when the feed discharge assembly is moved to the second position. It is contemplated to identify an animal feeding at a trough and record an identity of the animal for future reference. The feed discharge assembly may be rotatably moveable between the first and second positions or it may be linearly moveable between the first and second positions. The method may further include blocking the peripheral vision of an animal when the animal is feeding at the trough.